Everyone deserves a clean, safe, affordable place to live. The issue we're facing in Toronto is that we're missing homes at many levels. Studying the picture above from CMHC, you can see the continuum of housing; here in our city, the pace of construction of housing at all levels, with the exception of market home ownership, hasn't kept pace with the demand. It hasn't kept pace for decades. We really need to get creative in how we think about housing. Home ownership is an ideal for some, but in today's mobile, global society, it's impractical for some workers. Yet where can they rent? Imagine if the only place there is sufficient stock is the street ("homelessness") or very expensive homes where the individual or family need a huge down payment for even a small condo space ("market home ownership"). That just won't work. And right now, that's very close to where we stand here in Toronto.

If you click on the image above, it will take you to the City's briefing notes for the incoming Council on affordable housing. Soon they're going to make decisions about Toronto's housing strategy for the next ​decade - from 2020 to 2030. That means that (a), we're currently working from a strategy that was written about a decade ago when things were very different, and (b), that we need to get it right, because we'll feel the impacts of their decisions for a very long time. So how can you, a member of the public, get involved? This chart shows the various places and ways the public can get informed, provide feedback and advice, and help. And here's where you can find out how and when to engage with initiatives, appointments, committees, or volunteer activities.